Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Nato and EU expand mission in northern Kosovo

  • Statue in central Pristina. Eulex is unpopular among young Kosovars (Photo: CharlesFred)

Nato and EU police (Eulex) on Thursday (13 October) stepped up their patrols in northern Kosovo and said they will dismantle barricades set up by Serbs, advising them to stay away from "illegal" protests.

The joint forces dismantled a parallel road created by the local Serbs around the Jarinje crossing point in northern Kosovo "to help prevent illegal use of a side road around the official gate and stop smuggling," a Nato press release reads.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Nato forces also have the right "to remove barricades when the circumstances are appropriate and will not tolerate them indefinitely. Citizens should stay away from the road blockades and barricades, and should not take part in illegal protest activities," the statement added.

Last month, Nato had to step in when violence erupted at the Jarinje crossing point, with Serbs setting the border post on fire and bulldozing it. Ethnic tensions have flared in the majority-Serb part of Kosovo after Pristina decided to regain control of its border crossings in July and enforce a trade ban on Serbian goods. A Kosovo policeman was shot dead in the ensuing clashes.

Serbia, along with five EU member states, have not recognised Kosovo's independence, declared in 2008. EU police and Nato peacekeeping forces are trying to defuse tensions and clamp down on organised crime and trafficking.

Belgrade is under pressure from the EU to resume talks with Kosovo in returning for being allowed to start membership talks with the bloc.

Despite accusations from Pristina, the Serbian government maintains that it has nothing to do with the manning of barricades in northern Kosovo. Speaking to B92 radio last week, Serbian minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic said that protesters were "ordinary people protesting peacefully", including members of his own family, and that nobody had links with criminal gangs.

"Swiftly dial back" interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Podcast

Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza

This week's Euroscopic explores the consequences of Moscow's terror attack, the convergence of public safety and border/migration policy in an EU election year, and the United Nations Security resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Investigation

How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route

Psychotropic drug abuse is one of the many dangers migrants face along the Balkan route. In overcrowded camps, doctors prescribe tranquilisers to calm people down. And black market circuits and pharmacies selling drugs without prescription contribute to the issue.

Podcast

Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza

This week's Euroscopic explores the consequences of Moscow's terror attack, the convergence of public safety and border/migration policy in an EU election year, and the United Nations Security resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Latest News

  1. "Swiftly dial back" interest rates, ECB told
  2. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  3. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  4. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  5. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  6. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating
  7. Syrian mayor in Germany speaks out against AfD
  8. Asian workers pay price for EU ship recycling

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us